Nomadic Cliche

Nomadic Cliche

As I sit at the Phi Phi island rooftop bar surrounded by other young travelers wearing colorful bracelets and sporting tank tops with words like “Same Same” and “Chang Beer,” I overhear a familiar tune. Confident voices coming from lounged sunburnt bodies preach on about why they’ve chosen the nomadic path.
They cover where they are from, where they’ve been and how long they have been on the road. The constant cliche conversation.
One goes on and on for minutes, maybe longer,“Why would I just continue down that path and work my ass off until I’m 70? Contributing to a SYSTEM that doesn’t give a shit about me. No, man. I decided to say screw that and leave. And here I am.”
The other one replies with a nod and a one-upper, “Yeah man, you’ll see after you’ve been traveling for as long as me you won’t even remember what it feels like to pay taxes.”
They both laugh and high-five each other and continuing drinking their cold beers.
You could walk to any of the given groups of tables in this place and hear a similar conversation happening.
What do myself and the other 30 people at the bar all have in common with these two British surfer guys?We all left the real world behind and took to the road (and at this particular juncture that road led us to Thailand).
Myself and the other sitting at this bar stepped far out of our comfort zones and came to the other side of the world. Backpackers, lifelong travelers, and college kids all on the same path- for now, at least. The path binds us travelers together in what feels like an unspoken bond. It’s as if we carry a mutual respect for each other. It takes a traveler to realize that EVERY traveler has a story- something profound that occurred in their lives and inspired them to fly across the globe.
It’s a powerful story- the one of the nomad who left the 9-5 job back home. Sometimes it gets old- these repetitive conversations- but it’s also one of the charms of this new lifestyle I’ve chosen. It reminds me I am not alone. There are many others like me.
We- the nomads, the backpackers, the world travelers oozing wanderlust, all have similar songs to sing. We all left a world in which we did not find fulfillment. We left to explore the rest of the planet and live in the moment- and then this path of no direction becomes you. It becomes your identity and the story you tell everyone whose path you cross.You are the nomad.
We have become the characters we used to obsess over online. The one’s whose blogs and the social media threads would drive us to jealousy.
I have become that person- the “nomad cliche.”
Me, and all the others, anyway.
We’re all just riding this wave for as long and as far as it will take us- and maybe someday we will find our way home. Or maybe we have been home all along.
All I know is that I love this little community I have joined and have never been happier to be such a cliche.

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On August 14th, 2015 I left my life in the United States behind with the intention to never look back. I had the "American Dream" and I woke up from it, to create a new reality for myself. I sought out beauty in a world that was increasingly dark for me at the time and ended up finding more than I bargained for. With only a backpack, I traveled across Europe, South East Asia and then on to Africa. With over 30 countries stamped in my passport, I've become an entirely new version of myself with a broader perspective on what it means to be a woman in today's world. My hope is that by sharing my stories and featuring women like me from around the world, we can inspire others to break down their own internal barriers and go cross a few international borders while they're at it. I truly believe travel can be healing to a troubled soul, empowering to the lost and rejuvenating for the exhausted. Perspective is everything, and I believe in the power of "going global," what about you? SheGoesGlobal.net is a site that started out with my stories and grew into a platform for women all around the world to tell their travel tales of trials and triumph. We all believe that the more you see of the world, the better you can be as a person who inhabits it. Women encouraging other women to grow, travel, evolve- that's what SGG is all about. ---> Read my very first blog post (see "Archives" for August 2015) to learn how this all began.

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Love this! As cliched as it is, I try and find backpackers, I love the stories and the community that backpackers have. I went from somewhere swarmed with backpackers to none and now whenever I meet someone backpacking I love it!!

Wow Heather I have to say I am sooo happy for you. I remember the last time we talked in the parking lot of Trader Joe’s and you had just gotten the job with Perricone. How far you have come and I am really so proud of you. I hope you continue to find your way so many never do in their lifetime. Stay safe and be well. Lynie
Sent via the Samsung Galaxy Note5, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone

Love this! So beautifully written. I’m only blogging part time atm and working a 7 to 5 job. I hope someone I’ll be able to live that cliche nomadic lifestyle! Its been a dream of mine for so longggg 😊

I’m definitely happy to be the normal cliche. I love traveling the world and living abroad. But you hit the nail on the head. Those are the cliche backpacker conversations I honestly hear all over the place! I definitely love the drunk ones the best 😉

Love this post! And I love being a cliche as well :). It really is amazing to hear everyone’s story. No matter how many times I may hear the same similar story (which is a lot haha) I still find myself being inspired to do more, see more. It is such a wonderful community, indeed 🙂

So true 😂 It’s so strange going from a society where my decision to leave and travel the world is met with questions and sometimes downright disdain to being surrounded by people who made the same leap!

Sometimes it cringes me out to hear travellers talking about the nomad lifestyle and the system, but then I realise I talk like that myself sometimes. Haha! But there’s a fine line between being a poser who’s always like, “That reminds me of the time when I was up in the Himalayas with no shoes and a tiger” and a person who’s genuinely passionate about seeing the world and learning about other cultures. Cliches aren’t always bad! Would rather be the nomadic cliche than the 9 to 5ing one 🙂

Good for you. I love travelling but like to do it with money behind me. I wasn’t cut out for backpacking and hostels and watching what I spend. But I have admiration for those who do. And, who said we all had to subscribe to the 9-5. I;ve taken a year or so out of my corporate world and I am loving it.